Shaped watertight watch case fastening means



Aug. 9, 1966 E. PIQUEREZ 3,264,2fl

SHAPED WATERTIGHT WATCH CASE FASTENING MEANS Filed June 18, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 9, 1966 E. PIQUEREZ 3,264,20

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SHAPED WATERTIGHT WATCH CASE FASTENING MEANS Filed June 18, 1964 9 Sheets-=Sheet 9 mill 3,264,820 SHAPED WATER'IIGIIT WATCH CASE FASTENING MEANS Ervin Piquerez, Bassecourt, Berne, Switzerland Filed June 18, 1964, Ser. No. 376,092 Claims priority, application Switzerland, June 13, 1963, 7,545/63, 7,546/63; June 19, 1963, 7,611/63; Nov. 15, 1963, 14,031/63 '7 (Ilaims. (Cl. 58-90) My invention has for its object a shaped watertight watch case including a bottom fitted inside a caseband incorporating a rim and urging in a fluidtight manner the bearing surface of said caseband against the edge of a glass.

According to my invention, the bottom of said watch case is provided with at least one bolt subjected to the action of a spring and engaging a corresponding opening in the caseband so as to rigidly secure said parts together, said bolt and said opening being shaped and located in a manner such as to urge axially the bottom of the case against the caseband with a predetermined force.

I have illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing ten different embodiments of my invention. In said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial vertical cross-section of a first embodiment while FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-section through line II-II of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a detail of said first embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a partial vertical cross-section of the second embodiment and FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-section through line VV of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a partial vertical cross-section of a third embodiment while FIG. 7 is a cross-section through line VIIVII of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 illustrates a modification of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a partial vertical cross-section of a fourth embodiment and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional through line XX of FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 is a partial vertical cross-section of a fifth embodiment and FIG. 12 is a cross-section through line XIIXII of FIG. 11,

FIG. 13 is a partial vertical cross-section of a sixth embodiment and FIG. 14 is a cross-section through line XIVXIV of FIG. 13,

FIG. 15 is a partialvertical cross-section of a seventh embodiment and FIG. 16 is a cross-section through line XVI-XVI of FIG. 15,

FIG. 17 is a partial vertical cross-section of an eighth embodiment and FIG. 18 is a cross-section thereof through line XVIIIXVIII of FIG. 17,

FIG. 19 is a partial vertical cross-section of a ninth embodiment and FIG. 10 is a cross-section through line XX-XX of FIG. 19,

FIG. 21 is a partial vertical cross-section of a tenth embodiment and FIG. 22 is a cross-section through line XXII-XXII of FIG. 21.

In the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operative end 3 of the bolt is in the shape of a U-shaped plate of which the web cooperates with the caseband 2, said plate being fitted over a cylindrical piston 4 subjected to the action of a small coil spring 5. Said piston and said spring are housed inside a cylindrical sheath 6 fitted with a force fit in a recess formed in the bottom 1. Said sheath is longitudinally slotted at 7 so as to guide the plate 3 and it carries two studs 8 cooperating with the piston 4 so as to limit the movement of the latter in the direction of the caseband. There is obtained thus an independent unit incorporating means along which the cylindrical bolt slides and the diameter of which is comparatively small, while the associated operative end of the nited States Patent 0 bolt is as broad as possible. The bottom of the watch case is fitted to the caseband by means of four identical bolts of the type which has just been described.

In the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bolt 9 is subjected to the action of a coil spring 10 housed inside an opening 11 formed eccentrically with reference to the slot 12 inside which the bolt slides. Means for preventing the bolt from being projected outwardly by the spring when the bottom is removed are provided in the form of vertical pin 11a inserted in a corresponding recess of the bottom and extending into slot 12a formed in the bolt 9. Such an arrangement allows a particularly rational utilization of the room available for housing on the one hand the bolt which should not lie too near the edge of the caseband and on the other hand the spring which requires a certain depth of housing.

In the third embodiment (FIGS. 6 and '7), the bolt 13 is of a generally cylindrical shape as in the second embodiment, but it is fitted directly in an opening of the bottom of the watch case while its stroke is limited by a horizontal pin 14 engaging a longitudinal groove 15 in said piston. The operative end 16 of the bolt may have a breadth equal to the diameter of the bolt or else it may be broader than the latter so as to reduce the wear as illustrated at 17 in the modification according to FIG. 8.

In the fourth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the bottom 18 of the case is fitted in the caseband 19 incorporating a rim so as to urge a bearing surface of said rim against the edge 21 of a glass 22 with the interposition of a fiuidtight packing 20.

The bottom 18 is secured to the caseband 19 by means of four sliding bolts 23 of a rectangular shape housed inside radial openings formed in said bottom, the outer ends of said bolts engaging recesses 24 formed correspondingly in the caseband. A bent spring blade 25 urges the bolt towards the caseband and the end of the bolt is provided with a sloping plane surface 26 cooperating with the edge of the opening 24 so as to urge permanently the fluidtight packing into position under predetermined compressed conditions. Said sloping plane surface is furthermore comparatively long with reference to the length v of the side of the watch case and engages throughout its surface a flat edge formed along the edge of the opening 24 so as to reduce to a minimum the wear of the parts.

In order to prevent the bolts from being projected outwardly by the springs when the bottom is removed, vertical pins 27 are inserted in corresponding recesses of the bottom and extend into slots 28 formed in the cooperating bolts.

The slope at the end of the bolt and the power of the spring are selected in a manner such that the bolt may enter easily the corresponding opening in the caseband and on the other hand, compensation is thus afforded for any possible deformation of the parts without reducing substantially the pressure between the bottom and the caseband. In particular and by reason of the sliding of the bolt inside its housing, it is possible to make the clamping pressure independent of the allowances in manufacture and also to compensate at any moment for a possible sinking of the glass or of the fluidtight packing, which guarantees a perfect watertightness between the different parts.

In the fi-fth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the bolt 29 includes a cylindrical body but its operative end is also provided with an elongated sloping plane surface 30. Said bolt is urged outwardly by a coil spring 31 and its stroke is limited by a horizontal pin 32 engaging a lateral recess 33 formed in said bolt.

In the sixth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, the operative end of the bolt is in the shape of a spherical cap 34. Said bolt is rigid with a piston 35 subjected to the action of a small coil spring 36, said spring and piston being housed in a cylindrical sheath 37 fitted with a force fit in the bottom of the case. Said sheath is provided with an opening for the passage of the end of the bolt, said opening being bounded by an inner flange 38 forming a stop for the piston.

The opening formed in the caseband is provided with a sloping plane 39 in a manner such that the spherical cap may slide over said plane so as to'compensate for any possible deformations without reducing substantially the pressure exerted between the bottom of the case and the caseband.

In a seventh embodiment (FIGS. 15 and 16), the end 40 of the bolt is rounded and a fraction of its surface cooperates With the edge 41 of the opening so as to act as a sloping surface.

In the eighth embodiment (FIGS. 17 and 18), the end 42 of the bolt 43 has a diameter which is larger than the diameter of the body of the bolt, which allows reducing the wear of said end engaging the edge of the caseband opening.

In the ninth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20, the case bottom 43 is provided for its positioning inside the caseband 44 with four bolts 45 housed in recesses 46, the shifting of said bolts out of their inoperative position towards their operative position being controlled by an eccentric member 47. The latter is cut in a rod 48 and is bounded by two bearing surfaces 49 between which is held the inner end 50 of said bolt. A recess 51 formed in the lower end of the rod which is flush with the outer surface of the case bottom allows controlling the rotation of the eccentric member by means of a key or wrench provided for this purpose.

The outer ends of the bolts are each provided with a sloping surface 52 cooperating with the edge of a groove 53 formed in the caseband so as to urge under predetermined pressure conditions, the case bottom against the fluidtight packing 54. The shifting of the bolt is furthermore limited by a pin 55 housed in the case bottom and projecting into a slot 56 in the bolt so as to prevent the latter from dropping out When said bottom has been released with reference to the caseband.

In the tenth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22, a recess 57 is formed inside the bolt for housing therein a spring 58 cooperating with the surface 59 of the eccentric member 60. Said end 59 is cut into a V-shape so as to act as a stop holding the eccentric member 60 in its operative position.

The various above-disclosed embodiments show the advantages of a reliable and efiicient clamping associated with a particularly strong structure.

What I claim is:

1. In combination in a fluidtight watch case: a watch case bottom having at least one radially outwardly directed slot; a caseband having a rim facing said bottom and at least one recess facing said slot in said bottom; a glass fitted between said rim and said bottom; a locking member slidably mounted in said slot of said bottom and having a sloping end surface, said sloping end surface and a peripheral portion of said recess being in tangential relationship relative to each other and said sloping end surface being positioned to enter said recess and to make tangential contact with said peripheral portion of said recess; resilient means in said slot for urging said locking member outwardly to a locking position extending into said recess of said caseband, in which locking position said sloping end surface makes tangential contact with said peripheral portion of said recess thereby producing an axially directed force component which clamps the glass between said bottom and said caseband rim; said sloping end surface of said locking member and said recess being so dimensioned as to provide a clearance therebetween at least between the upper part of said surface and said recess when said member is in said locking position, said clearance together with said tangential relationship permitting a varying depth of engagement between said sloping end surface and said recess; and stop means for preventing said locking member from being projected outwardly when said bottom is separated from said caseband.

2. A fluidtight watch case according to claim 1, further comprising an eccentric member disposed in said slot near the inward end of said slot and wherein said resilient means comprises a spring, one end of said spring engaging said eccentric member and the other end of said spring engaging said locking member near the end of said locking member opposite said sloping end.

3. A fluidtight Watch case according to claim 1, wherein said locking member consists of a plate-shaped bolt.

4. A fluidtight watch case according to claim 1, wherein said locking member has a slot and said stop means comprises a stopping pin engaging said slot.

5. A fluidtight watch case according to claim 1, wherein said locking member is inserted in a sleeve and said stop means comprises an inwardly directed shoulder integral with said sleeve.

6. A fluidtight watch case according to claim 1, wherein said end of said locking member is larger than the re mainder thereof.

7. A fluidtight watch case according to claim 1, wherein said recess has a sloping plane.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,655,750 1/1928 Campo.

2,574,671 11/1951 Taubert 589O 2,755,120 7/ 1956 Young et a1. 292-74 FOREIGN PATENTS 189,190 2/1937 Switzerland. 317,193 11/1956 Switzerland. 330,378 5/ 1958 Switzerland.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner. LEO SMILOW, Examiner. G. F. BAKER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION IN A FLUIDTIGHT WATCH CASE: A WATCH CASE BOTTOM HAVING AT LEAST ONE RADIALLY OUTWARDLY DIRECTED SLOT; A CASEBAND HAVING A RIM FACING SAID BOTTOM AND AT LEAST ONE RECESS FACING SAID SLOT IN SAID BOTTOM; A GLASS FITTED BETWEEN SAID RIM AND SAID BOTTOM; A LOCKING MEMBER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID SLOT OF SAID BOTTOM AND HAVING A SLOPING END SURFACE, SAID SLOPING END SURFACE AND A PERIPHERAL PORTION OF SAID RECESS BEING IN TANGENTIAL RELATIONSHIP RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND SAID SLOPING END SURFACE BEING POSITIONED TO ENTER SAID RECESS AND TO MAKE TANGENTIAL CONTACT WITH SAID PERIPHERAL PORTION OF SAID RECESS; RESILIENT MEANS IN SAID SLOT URGING SAID LOCKING MEMBER OUTWARDLY TO A LOCKING POSITION EXTENDING INTO SAID RECESS OF SAID CASEBAND, IN WHICH LOCKING POSITION SAID SLOPING END SURFACE MAKES TANGENTIAL CONTACT WITH SAID PERIPHERAL PORTION OF SAID RECESS THEREBY PRODUCING AN AXIALLY DIRECTED FORCE COMPONENT WHICH CLAMPS THE GLASS BETWEEN SAID BOTTOM AND SAID CASEBAND RIM; SAID SLOPING END SURFACE OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER AND SAID RECESS BEING SO DIMENSIONED AS TO PROVIDE A CLEARANCE THEREBETWEEN AT LEAST BETWEEN THE UPPER PART OF SAID SURFACE AND SAID RECESS WHEN SAID MEMBER IS IN SAID LOCKING POSITION, SAID CLEARANCE TOGETHER WITH SAID TANGENTIAL RELATIONSHIP PERMITTING A VARYING DEPTH OF ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID SLOPING END SURFACE AND SAID RECESS; AND STOP MEANS FOR PREVENTING SAID LOCKING MEMBER FROM BEING PROJECTED OUTWARDLY WHEN SAID BOTTOM IS SEPARATED FROM SAID CASEBAND. 